Haren's gutsy effort isn't enough to stop skid

MIAMI -- The silence spoke loudly in the Marlins' clubhouse following a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday night at Marlins Park.

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Despite Dan Haren's gutsy six-inning effort, the end result was all too familiar, with Miami getting swept in three games while also dropping seven of eight.

"It's very hard," Haren said. "Obviously, it's pretty much dead silent in here now. I don't know how to gauge it, but things aren't going well. It's tough to really describe, but the game ain't stopping. We have to come out tomorrow and play."

Haren continues to turn in strong performances, but the 34-year-old has dropped three straight decisions.

"It's hard, especially at my age, at this stage of my career, it's hard to deal with," Haren said. "I feel for the other 24 guys in here. We're trying to push and win a game, but we can't."

Haren's line reads worse than he threw. He was charged with four runs in six-plus innings, with three runs in the seventh coming while he sat in the dugout.

Video: STL@MIA: Jennings on the Marlins' 5-1 loss to Cards

"Danny, for six innings, pitched a heck of a ballgame," manager Dan Jennings said. "He and [catcher] J.T. [Realmuto] worked tremendous together. That seventh inning, he gives up a soft single, then another base hit. And for the first time in a long time, we did not handle the ball very well defensively. We failed to execute. We have a saying around here -- 27 outs no more."

The defense made a couple of errors, and mishandled two would-be sacrifice bunts, which were technically scored singles.

The sloppy, three-run seventh inning soured what was a well-pitched outing between Haren and Lance Lynn, who gave up two hits in six scoreless innings for St. Louis.

Video: STL@MIA: G. Garcia beats the throw to first base

"Definitely have to execute better," Haren said. "I don't know what happened on the bunt plays. Obviously, they have to be made. I was a little bit tired going out there for the seventh. I tried to give us a lift and get us through seven, facing the bottom of the lineup and ended up backfiring on me. I wish I had told them I was done there. It would have probably given us a better chance. It looks like I didn't pitch good, but I thought I threw the ball all right."

Turning things around won't be easy with the Dodgers in town for a weekend set starting on Friday night.

"There's no way out except just digging ourselves out and trying to win the next game," Haren said. "The Dodgers aren't going to care that we got swept. They're going to come out here and want to win. So we can't feel sorry for ourselves, that's for sure."